If you’ve ever seen a gecko before, you know that they are totally dependent on their surroundings for food. They will spend hours watching your feet to see if there is anything small enough for them to eat.
If nothing suitable comes close, then it becomes a matter of time until death for this little creature.
Sadly, though, this isn’t always the case. In fact, some geckos can go days or even weeks without eating!
Whether due to poor nutrition or health issues, these special creatures seem to have developed a habit of waiting instead of feeding.
But how long can they go? And what factors affect how much food they get through per day?
In this article, we will be looking at the differences in nutritional needs between adult geckoes and young geckoes, as well as determining the optimal timing for an average sized male gecko to begin eating again.
We will also look at the different types of foods geckoos require, and what may hinder their appetite. This way, you will have more ideas on how to help your gecko feel better and start eating healthier!
Stress can sometimes interfere with hunger
Stress can sometimes influence how hungry someone feels. For example, when you are under stress, you may need less frequent meals, or maybe you cannot stomach what you had earlier so you do not feel like eating.
Reasons why geckos need to eat
First, if you look closely at a lizard’s feet, you will see that it has toe nails! This is because lizards are not true mammals, like dogs or humans.
Mammals have hair which protects their skin from being scraped off by hard surfaces when they move around. Since most reptiles spend a lot of time moving around and exploring new areas, they needed a way to protect themselves. Therefore, they evolved thick, sharp nail-like structures called toes or finger nails.
By protecting their soft fur with these sharper nails, they are less likely to get hurt in high risk environments. However, without food, their nails will grow longer, making them more vulnerable.
Geckos are no exception – if they do not find enough food to satisfy their hunger, then their fingernails will get long and spiky. This makes them more difficult to grab and swallow, potentially depriving them of necessary nutrients.
Second, geckos must ingest minerals such as potassium and calcium to function properly. These minerals help control muscle activity and heart rhythm, and therefore play an important role in regulating body temperature.
If your lizard does not consume enough of either one of these substances, then it may suffer from too cool or too hot a body temperature. This could be fatal for the animal.
Third, when geckos are not eating enough, their blood glucose levels can drop.
How long can a gecko go without eating
Many people admire geckos for their beautiful colors and patterns they have. These are called self-colored or polymorphic markings, which vary depending on what body part the gecko is looking at when it forms its pattern.
Many assume that these shades come from internal organs being covered in blood, but this is not always the case. For example, some white geckos may actually be using special cells to produce their color.
Geckos also develop very finely tuned eye coordination as lizards, so they can run around chasing insects while still watching out for danger!
However, perhaps the most impressive thing about a gecko is how well it survives without food for an extended period of time. Some species can survive up to two weeks without food, even though geckos usually eat every few hours.
These geckos do not seem particularly hungry, although they might play with themselves a little bit before starting to feed.
Slow and steady
For many species, being hungry is what keeps them going! If they are not fed enough food, then they will stop eating and eventually collapse or perish.
For example, when geckos go without food for too long, they will slowly lose weight and suffer from malnutrition. They may also become inactive and stop moving around to look for prey.
If you want to help your gecko get back onto its feet, then make sure it is well-fed. It might take hours or days, but it should be able to survive that time if it has stored enough energy before it became hungry.
Time your feeding
While geckos are nocturnal hunters, they do not need to eat at night! This is because they go through periodic eating or activity shifts called circadian rhythms.
As geckos grow older, their body can get tired of eating constantly, so they enter sleep mode where they stop metabolizing food and instead focus on growth.
This happens because as geckos age, they save extra glucose (a sugar source) for themselves by storing it in fat cells. Glucose is a basic component needed to have energy so they preserve this by quitting eating.
However, you should be aware that if a gecko does wake up hungry then try to hold off on letting it out until it becomes active again. This could take days!
Geckos who survive longer may also suffer from more serious health problems such as diabetes which can affect how well they feel.
Cleaning your gecko
When cleaning your lizard, make sure to never use chemicals such as vinegar or water! These could damage the geckos internal organs or even cause poisoning!
Geckos are diurnal (daytime) reptiles that need light exposure for activity. If you wash your gecko with tap water or liquid cleaner, it will not work properly due to the lack of light.
This is why most people recommend using bottled spring water with no additives or decorations like hairspray or baby wipes. That way, you can be more careful about how much liquid is used, and none of these things will enter the gecko’s body.
Help your gecko lose weight
As mentioned earlier, lizards are not directly poached for their skin or meat. However, people do purchase them as pets, so how humans care for them is an important factor in keeping them healthy.
Geckos need several small pieces of fresh gecko diet every few hours to survive. This can be difficult to provide since most preyed-upon animals eat insects that are harder to source. Luckily, you can make your own!
You may have heard of reptile diets consisting mostly of chicken egg shells. While this is a good start, it cannot meet all of a gecko’s nutritional needs. In fact, it may even cause health problems.
What should be used instead? You can find many different types of lizard food at any pet supply store. Many use crickets, worms, and/or cockroach eggs as the main ingredient.
Nutrition is important
While geckos are not typically thought of as particularly intelligent animals, they do show some behavior patterns that we can learn from. For example, in the wild, geckos will spend most of their time hanging around very slowly moving or even staying still until something edible comes within reach.
When they finally decide to eat what they wanted, it goes quickly! This instinctual eating pattern has inspired people to try teaching your lizard new behaviors by offering them food at a faster rate than they normally would.
For example, if you want your lizard to go outside, make sure it is well-fed first so that it feels full enough to leave the shelter. Then, get it out the door and offer it its favorite treat like dried meat or chicken skin. If it seems motivated to eat, give it some more so that it does not feel hungry when it is exposed to other things.
This article will talk about why nutrition is an essential part of lizards’ lives and how to ensure yours is always up to par.
Know your lizard
Many people enjoy keeping geckos as house pets because they are very interesting lizards that can be fun to watch. However, owning a gecko may not be the best idea if you want it to survive for longer than a few days!
Geckos need to eat every couple of hours to function properly. If their diet does not contain enough nutrition, then their bodies will begin wasting energy trying to get more food instead of doing other things like breathing or moving around.
When a gecko is not eating, its body starts to deteriorate rapidly. It will stop feeding so quickly that hypothlicemia (low blood glucose levels) occurs. This usually happens within one to two days depending on the size of the gecko.
Problems such as dehydration and death can occur soon after if left untreated. Fortunately, there are some ways to help prevent this from happening.
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